Thousands of teachers, health care workers, trash collectors and others walked off their jobs across Italy on Friday to protest a decline in spending power, persistently low salaries and government policies they say have weakened public services.

Italy's most powerful trade unions called the eight-hour strike and mobilized marches in cities across the country to target Premier Giorgia Meloni's latest budget that they say penalizes schools, health care and other services. They also are pressing for a more equitable distribution of profits from private companies to workers.